Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

What is your favorite Sci-fi/Fantasy book? Do you have a top 5? Top 10?

That is a hard one, Patrick.
I like Space Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet / Perelandra / That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis. I am planning on rereading Dune next month and will let you know my reaction, that is, if it is still my favourite.

Rosemarie wrote: "That is a hard one, Patrick.
I like Space Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet / Perelandra / That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis. I am planning on rereading [book:Dune|2..."

Great books! I love Dune, Ender's Game, Lord of the Rings, Redwall, and (right now) Lovecraft is starting to be a favorite of mine. I've heard great things about Foundation.

I have recently discovered Lovecraft and am going to read and also Algernon Blackwood, who apparently influenced Lovecraft.
At the Mountains of Madness seems like it could have been the inspiration for many movies, like The Thing.

The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
Bridge of Birds, Barry Hughart
The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien
The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury
Mythago Wood, Robert Holdstock

2001: A Space Odyssey
The Three-Body Problem
The Caves of Steel
The Eyes of the Dragon
Assassin's Apprentice
Dune

The War of the Worlds
A Clockwork Orange
Jurassic Park
I, Robot
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Time Machine
Slaughterhouse-Five

The Glamour of the Snow by Algernon Blackwood

I think that might be my only read :(

1 is The Last Unicon by peter s beagle
2 Princess of Mars and series by edgar rice burroughs.
3 I Am Legend
4 recently Solaris by Lem
5 the Day of the Triffids by john wyndham
6 Childhood's End by arthur c clarke. This one made me cry a little.

I can't pick one favorite. Any of the following would be on my list:

1. City by Clifford D. Simak
2. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
3. Time Out of Joint by Philip K. Dick
4. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
5. The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
6. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
7. On the Beach by Nevil Shute
8. The Masque of Mañana by Robert Sheckley
9. The Rediscovery of Man by Cordwainer
Smith
10. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
11. The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag by Robert A. Heinlein

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
Perdido Street Station by China Miéville
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
And of course, The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

I loved Tolkien’s The Lord of the Ring’s when I read it earlier this year. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn is one of my all-time favorite books. Hard to imagine, but the novel is even more magical than the 80’s animated movie.

Great books guys!
Saul I’m still waiting for Rothfuss to finish the third one. Can’t imagine why he keeps putting it off. He’s not George RR Martin! Lol

I think that my very first favorite was Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, although, alas, I find that it doesn't hold up very well now that I'm grown up. (Probably my fault.)

I was similarly enthralled by Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, but that, too, fails to reward re-reading. In that case, it's more a matter of times having changed.

Among more contemporary works, I'm greatly impressed by Jacqueline Carey's alternate history in her Terre d'Ange series beginning with Kushiel's Dart. I also like Mercedes Lackey's Heralds of Valdemar series, beginning with Arrows of the Queen, although I think she's pretty well run that into the ground by now.

Of course, nothing, but nothing beats J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings!

Re: Tolkien
It’s the intricate world-building. I wish more authors dedicated that much time to their ideas.

Tolkein was an academic, so he had that discipline to draw on.

@Patrick I'm kind of losing hope at this point. I already gave up on Martin, but I still want to have faith in Rothfuss. As for science fiction, I haven't really read that many, but of the few I know, I'd probably choose Dune as my favorite. @Samantha I agree. Nowadays, most authors make a half-baked world that never quite feels real.

Lately I have been reading a lot of Philip K. Dick and J. G. Ballard. They're so different, but I've been really enjoying both of them.

I first read Philip K. Dick's Ubik to see if I would like his style. I was instantly addicted and decided to go back to the beginning and read his early novels before moving on to his masterpiece.

So far I've read . . .

1. Solar Lottery
2. The Man Who Japed
3. The World Jones Made
4. The Cosmic Puppets
5. Eye in the Sky
6. Time Out of Joint
7. Dr. Futurity

I'm currently reading Vulcan’s Hammer.

My first book by J. G. Ballard was The Drowned World. I liked it, but I didn't know if I liked it enough to read The Drought and The Crystal World so I read Concrete Island instead and I loved it. Then I read High-Rise and loved that even more.

I read a lot of wonderful ones but all time favourites are:

Fahrenheit 451 , the complete Dune series and I, Robot, Ursula K. Le Guin and J.R.R. Tolkien

In more recent times, I love the books of Robin Hobb , as with each series a new part of her world emerges. Also pleasantly surprised by Wool and Patrick Rothfuss, but high time he publishes his third book.
And we should not forget Terry Pratchett .

I loved Fahrenheit 451, Dune, and I, Robot! I need to finish both Dune and Robot series though! I have them but I haven't started the others yet.

I haven't read any of Robin Hobb, sadly. Where do you suggest I start??

I'm a bit annoyed at Patrick Rothfuss for taking his sweet time finishing the third book. I don't know what he's waiting for...his readers to become upset? lol

Here you can find the order I think logical, but there can be discussion on it. http://www.robinhobb.com/novels/
And Rothfuss..I have the feeling he lost inspiration or so?:-(

Hi Patrick. I am in the middle of Asimov's Robot Dreams and so far I have enjoyed every story. I have Robot Visions lined up for next and I believe it includes the stories from I, Robot.

Well I learned something there! I thought I, Robot was a novel.

Thank you Claire!!

I need to get Robot Dreams. Hopefully my used bookstore near me has it.

Hi Bernard. I thought the same thing before I started reading these. I guess I just assumed it was a novel after seeing the Will Smith movie.

If the movie was anything to go by, the book is going to be great. Must get a copy soon.

When I reread Dune by Frank Herbert I was not disappointed. It still is my favourite Science Fiction novel. But only the first novel.
I read two of the sequels and they weren't nearly as good.

Fantasy:
Michael J. Sullivan’s Riyria books
all Brandon Sanderson
Poison Study (Maria Study)
Bartimaeus trilogy (Jonathan Stroud)
The Magicians and Mrs Quent (Galen Beckett)

Sci Fi:
Ender’s Game series (Orson Scott Card)
Michael Vey series (Richard Paul Evans)
Mila 2.0 (Debra Driza)
The Martian (Andy Weir)

Urban Fantasy:
Insomnia (J R Johansson)
Pitch Green (Brothers Washburn)

Thanks for your list Audrey. It looks very interesting.

Whenever anyone asks me what my favorite sci-fi book is, the first thing that comes to my mind is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. For fantasy, it is The Lord of the Rings, bar none.

Great books!! I read Do Androids Dream is Electric Sheep last year and really enjoyed it.

Without a doubt, my favorite SFF book is The Lord of the Rings. I'm a bit of a fanatic about it, and I own several different copies, along with a complete set of JRRT's other works. Some honorable mentions include Frank Herbert's Dune, Robert Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea Trilogy, and Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light.

I love Lord of the Rings too! I really want to read Lord of Light! But I can never find a copy anywhere.

Patrick wrote: "I love Lord of the Rings too! I really want to read Lord of Light! But I can never find a copy anywhere."

Open Library has Lord of Light.

Yeah, this is extremely hard.
In fantasy my favorite is probably A Song of Ice and Fire. I love the huge world GRRM has built.
Of course I love Lord of the Rings. And Narnia and Harry Potter.
I've mostly read the best known fantasy.

Sci-fi, now that's even harder.
Dead Girls, Dead Boys, Dead Things, I really love this trilogy and the author in general.
All of Dune(written by FRANK Herbert). A lot of people hate Dune Messiah for some reason, but it's my favorite.
The Foundation Trilogy
Stephen Baxter's Xeelee universe books. Transcendent, Ring, Xeelee: Endurance, etc.
And I'm a big fan of Star Wars books BEFORE Disney. I think they just make up a great long epic.

I love Dune and the Foundation Series!! I still need to finish the Dune series. Hopefully I’ll get to them this year!

Patrick wrote: "I love Dune and the Foundation Series!! I still need to finish the Dune series. Hopefully I’ll get to them this year!"
Which books do you have left?

I just read Dune but I have the whole series.

Patrick wrote: "I just read Dune but I have the whole series."
They're great. Enjoy.

Book Nerd wrote: "All of Dune(written by FRANK Herbert). A lot of people hate Dune Messiah for some reason, but it's my favorite.."
I love Dune but was somewhat disappointed in the sequels written by Frank Herbert. I just felt they did not live up to the first book. I tried one or two of the later prequels written by Brian Herbert but could not even finish them. :-(

It was a clever plan to establish an author dynasty for Dune, but I could not get through the original.

Impossible to decide, but The October Country by Ray Bradbury is a favourite. The Dwarf and Skeleton are in my top ten by him.

Those two are my favourites too.

Book Nerd wrote: "Patrick wrote: "I tried one or two of the later prequels written by Brian Herbert but could not even finish them. :-( "
Yeah, I wasted way too much time reading them.

Bernard wrote: "It was a clever plan to establish an author dynasty for Dune, but I could not get through the original."
It was never planned. Brian Herbert just started making money on his father's name, claiming to work from his notes.

In no particular order (because my taste has changed since I built the list):

1. Perdido Street Station - China Miéville

2. The Name of the Wind
3. The Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss

4. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafón

5. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

6. The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien

7. The Last Wish - Andrzej Sapkowski

8. Titus Groan - Mervyn Peake

9. Anathem - Neal Stephenson

10. Elantris - Brandon Sanderson

Hey glad to see you here Saul!!
I liked Patrick Rothfuss’ Name of the Wind books. I just wish he’d write the last one already. It’s been 7 years since the last one came out!

Gladiator by Philip Wylie.
Farewell to the Master by Harry Bates. Forgot that one.